With a newly-released album, Creator, Elliott Douglas aka M.A.G.S. is on the move. Having just escaped from LA, we caught up with M.A.G.S. and discussed his newest album, his decision to leave LA, his upcoming tour, and the unexpected meaning behind his moniker.
Hey Elliott, good to meet you.
Good to meet you as well.
So, you have a new album that just came out, Creator, which is kind of like an unplugged version of your previous album, Destroyer. Do you see it that way or do you consider it an entirely new entity?
I see it as a bunch of things. Honestly, I do see it as a bit of an unplugged version. Creator did start life as an acoustic album. That was the original sort of plan and, as you know, during the the process of making it, it sort of turned into what it is now, which I consider is more of a re-imagining. What we did was just strip the songs completely back to the bolts, just the melodies and the chords, and we rebuilt the instrumentals. Obviously, the lyrics and the melodies are the same but I think everything that surrounds them is so different. So to me, I feel like the songs on Creator deserve to have their own identity.
I like that Creator has a summer vibe kind of thing going on as well.
Yeah, definitely. You know, it's ironic, because we started to make Creator right before winter as it got chilly in Chicago. But now, it is kind of the perfect album for driving around in your car.
And you're about to embark on a tour as well. Are you excited to be back on tour?
I'm definitely excited. These are the only shows that I'm gonna be playing this year. So I'm looking forward to it. I live in Kansas City, Missouri now. But I was in LA for the past 6 years so, first and foremost, is getting to go back to LA.
You're known for your live performances. They can get pretty intense. Where do you draw the inspiration for your performances? Was it from going to shows when you were younger?
Definitely, I kind of came up listening to a lot of punk music and hardcore music. The energy a lot of the bands from the era that I was listening to, were very high energy. And it really was about the show. You know, crowd surfing and just sort of having everyone on the same frequency. I try to bring a little bit of that to my shows.
You definitely do that. So new album, upcoming tour... do you prefer the instant feedback of the live show or do you prefer releasing an album and hearing the feedback over time?
That's a good question. I think there are sort of positives and negatives to both. I think the things I love about playing shows are, yeah, the sort of the positive feedback and just the synergy in the room. Getting to meet the people that kind of make all this really possible, you know. And then, I guess there are some negatives, mostly pertaining to things that aren't directly happening on stage. But I think being in the studio has its own rewards as well. It gives me an opportunity to sort of stretch myself out of my comfort zone. What I'm usually aiming for is like, let me try to do something that I've never done before. Or something that I may not be a hundred percent sure about yet but let's explore that, you know.
You are very hands-on in the recording process. Was that always the case or did you learn as you became frustrated with recording with other producers and engineers?
Yeah, it was really that honestly. When I was in Buffalo coming up, I played in a handful of bands and my experiences in the studio were always fine, you know, like OK. I don't necessarily have anything bad to say about any of my recording experiences while I was living in Buffalo, but I felt like while I was there, I just kinda had this thing in the back of my mind of like, “I can do this,” you know.
I know the feeling.
So instead of trying to get someone else to hear what I wanted to hear, I can just do what I hear and not have to have this middle person. And I've been recording like for the majority of my life. It started off when I was a kid, you know, taking 2 cassette players and just transferring stuff from the radio to a tape. And then my cousin gave me a demo copy of Adobe Audition and that introduced me to multi tracking. I had like a garbage Radio Shack mic and I would just do it. From there, I had a couple of different systems like, I had like a digital recorder, like some old Roland unit from the nineties, and I also had a rip of Cubase at one point as well. So yeah, a lot of just trying things and and figuring it out.
So do you still use your own DAW for recording, let's say, the bones of what would eventually be a song?
Yeah, I actually, for the most part, with the exception of Destroyer, I've recorded and mixed all my albums on my own. And that was just, I guess, out of necessity. Like back in 2020, during the pandemic. I was just like, "Okay, it's on my laptop and I'm just gonna make it.” I recorded all the instruments at my friend's house. I just set everything up and recorded the tracks and then I brought them home and mixed them. And you know that's just kind of how I've always done it. Same thing with Creator. It's like I was at my friend's house and we tracked everything while I was there and then I brought it home and mixed it.
Being able to record your own music on your own - do you feel that it's advantageous for you to get those ideas out of your head immediately?
Definitely. I think with getting the ideas out, if I can get the general idea down like in my computer, just like an acoustic demo or something. I don't always use it right away but as long as I have it somewhere, where it's accessible, that's what's important. When I'm writing, a lot of my songs are like years and years removed from when I write them to when they come out. A lot of the songs on Destroyer... I think, the oldest one is from 2014 honestly. A couple were conceived in 2016, and most of the the parts were written. The time between then and when it actually gets recorded sometimes is 10 years. I have basically like this giant archive of bits and pieces of of stuff. I'm actually in the process of starting my next album so I'm already starting to dig through the archives again.
So you record most of your own music and it seems like you play every instrument. What started it all?
Yeah, it's funny. A lot of people say, I play every instrument. But realistically, I just play drums, bass and guitar. I started off playing drums. I played at my church a lot. I was about 11 or 12 when I started wanting to play drums more seriously. I always knew I could play them like it was just sort of like this thing in my brain. And then about 16 or 17, I started playing bass and I started teaching myself guitar. My older sister, she had an electric guitar, and whenever she was going out, I would like sneak in the basement and play her guitar. Same kind of thing with my brother. He had a bass guitar, and I would just kind of always be fussing around on it. So at some point like, I started kind of putting it together and like figuring out how to make chords and even when I was playing drums in some of the bands, I would be paying attention to what my guitarists were doing and learn their parts. So like a lot of it just came from like watching other people and how they played.
It's like you were prepping yourself to be M.A.G.S., this one-man band.
Essentially, yeah. And that was where a lot of the recording came from as well. It's like, if I can basically make a song all by myself, that's kind of the dream.
So the name M.A.G.S., where does the name come from? Is it really an acronym or were the periods to differentiate yourself from another Mags?
Yeah, there is another Mags that's just spelled without the periods. It's kind of a convoluted story. But, like my grandmother's name is Maggie and then there was a girl at my church who had a sister that was also named Maggie, and she would call her Mags as a nickname. I remember having a conversation with my grandma this one time at my parent's house and it all kind of just hit me. It was like a bolt of lightning. I just kind of remembered that her name was Maggie. Another part of that story actually is that my ex-girlfriend was also at my parents house. And we had been talking about, if we had kids, I was like, “I like the name Maggie,” like that would be a cool name for a girl if we did get married and have kids. And all these things, all these thoughts, all these different synapses fired at once. And I was like, “I'm gonna name my band Mags,” you know. It was just like that. I was working with another record label at the time and they said there was already a Mags. And I was like, “We're gonna just keep the spelling the same and then put the periods between the letters,” and Mike from the label was like, “Oh, so it's an acronym, does it stand for anything?” And I shit you not, like off the top of my head, I just said, marijuana and good sex.
Marijuana And Good Sex definitely spells M.A.G.S. I assume you partake in both?
Yes. Not as much marijuana these days. I actually stopped smoking marijuana after I left LA. I just felt like it was one of those things I wanted to part from a little bit and give myself a little time to clear my head out.
Would you say marijuana was a part of your creative process? And if it was, what has replaced it?
Yeah, it really was. And that's something that I've been sort of working on. You know, it's one of those weird things where, when you get sober, you realize that your brain is not what you thought it was when you weren't sober and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Marijuana, especially, makes everything sound really good. You're much more inclined to chase an idea or vibe, because you're in this like altered state and your inhibitions are a bit dulled. And I'm finding that now that I'm sober, I'm having a little bit of a tougher time chasing those ideas. I haven't really replaced it with much. I think right now what I've really been focused on is, like in my own personal life, just getting myself a little more grounded. You know, I spend a lot of time touring and a lot of time in the ether, you know, living in Los Angeles. And so the last like 9 months I've been really focused on just like getting my personal affairs in order and making sure that my girlfriend and my cats and everybody's happy and content. That's been really good and that's partly why I am looking forward to this tour. Because it's kind of like I have this established life to come back to when I come back from tour.
So when you're on tour, do you use that free time going from city to city to write music? Or do you just sort of chill?
I definitely don't chill. I almost never. My tour, it's work the entire time. And it's usually because it's like I'm the one who drives. I'm the one who sells merch. I'm usually the one that's tour managing. Because it is my project. It's like most of the people that are on my team are looking to me to know what's next. And I'm like, “Okay, well, here's the plan.” And so I don't necessarily write a ton of music while I'm on the road, but I do find that I get inspired to write music when I get back. It really has a lot to do with the people that I get to meet afterwards, or people that come to the shows. When I'm at home, a lot of it feels very super-separated. But when I get to talk to people and they're telling me about what this album means to them and they really want to talk about the music, it makes me feel amazing. I think that's kind of the driving force to continue to do it.
It must be incredible to hear that.
Yeah because ultimately, it's not really about me. It is, but it isn't. It's also about us. It's about being human, being alive and all of our experiences. So I think when I get to talk to people and people tell me about how they relate to the music, it's like I get to relate to them better, and they get to relate to me better. And I think that's what's important.
It's all about empathy for sure. So, I know you grew up listening to a lot of Coheed and Cambria and Circa Survive. What bands would your fans be surprised to hear that you listen to?
Oh, interesting! That's a good question. At one point, especially when I was working on Destroyer, I was listening to a ton of hip hop. So much hip hop, like Vince Staples, Playboi Carti and Isaiah Rashad. For me, it really comes down to the beats and their beat selection, and I think particularly with Playboi Carti, he's got a really unique style. And his ad libs are kind of like next level, in a sense where he can kind of just make a song out of ad libs. I definitely tend to borrow from that with my music where you have a part of a song and if it feels like there's something missing, sometimes you just need some hype vocals in the background.
So, speaking of other artists, have you ever considered collaborating with anyone or is there anyone you wish you could collaborate with?
Yes and yes. I think after doing Creator especially because Creator is like the very first collaborative effort for M.A.G.S. that I've done with Ahmed, who plays guitar in my band and his roommate Micah, who is this Ableton god. It was very much the three of us together, creating that project. I think ultimately M.A.G.S. is me but M.A.G.S. is anyone who's ever been a part of it, too, you know. I've gotten to play with a bunch of different musicians on tour. And I've worked with a bunch of different companies and like anybody who's ever had a part in getting M.A.G.S. to where it is, I value the contributions, and, like you know, it is collaborative. All of it. I couldn't do any of this all by myself. But man, my dream collaboration? I think it would be really cool to get in the studio with Donald Glover one day. So that would be kind of a really crazy meeting of worlds. A lot of people tend to compare me to him a lot. I'm not exactly a hundred percent sure. But I'm not mad at it, by any stretch.
M.A.G.S. and Childish Gambino would be pretty sick. Well, Elliott, I think my time's up. Thank you so much for your time, I really appreciate it. And good luck with your upcoming tour!
Thank you, man, I appreciate it. Peace.
